Time passed, and lunch break finally arrived. The teacher had already left the classroom. Alvaro sat at her desk, lost in thought.
Kaori… her nickname is the same as the name in that letter.
It was a letter she had found while cleaning her room, written in a child's messy handwriting.
Kaori… Ruzaela? Maybe I'll ask her later.
Alvaro stood up and headed out of the classroom, only to find Kaori already waiting for her.
"Shall we?" Kaori invited.
"Let's go," Alvaro replied.
They walked to the canteen together. Once there, they ordered their meals separately.
Whoa… the food is pretty expensive here, Alvaro thought.
After paying for her meal, Alvaro scanned the room for a place to sit. She spotted a perfect empty table—it was even clean, with no leftover scraps in sight. She set her food down just as Kaori approached and sat across from her.
"By the way, what's your full name?" Alvaro asked bluntly, skipping the small talk.
"Kaori Ruzaela. Why?" she asked.
"Oh… nothing. I was just curious," Alvaro replied awkwardly, giving her a small smile.
"I see," Kaori said, then started eating.
As Alvaro began her meal, it finally clicked—Kaori was the same "crybaby" girl she had met when they were children.
A brief silence followed.
"Ah, right," Kaori said, breaking the silence.
Alvaro looked up from her food, pushing the thought aside.
"You're new here, right? You don't have a dorm yet?" Kaori asked, just to make sure.
Alvaro nodded. "Yeah, I just transferred."
"Then you'll probably get your dorm assignment today," Kaori said. "That's how it was for everyone else."
"What's it like?" Alvaro asked.
"Not bad, but sometimes there are power outages," Kaori replied. "It's not too bad, though."
Alvaro raised an eyebrow. Power outages?
Kaori noticed her reaction and chuckled. "Even if you don't have a roommate yet, like me, it's fine. The outages don't last long. You can just turn on your phone flashlight." She shrugged.
"Ah… did you bring your stuff already?" Kaori asked.
"Yeah, it's in my bag," Alvaro answered.
Kaori widened her eyes, giving her an are-you-serious look.
"What?" Alvaro asked, confused by Kaori's stare.
"Clothes, shampoo, books—all in one bag?" Kaori asked.
"Yeah. Everything's in there," Alvaro replied.
"HAHHH?" Kaori gasped, eyes widening—until Alvaro quickly covered her mouth.
"Dude, people are watching. You gasped too loud," Alvaro said with a sigh.
"Eh—oh, sorry," Kaori said, blinking repeatedly, feeling awkward.
"Good," Alvaro said with a small smile as she moved her hand away.
She glanced at their plates. Both were already finished, but Kaori wasn't picking hers up, so Alvaro grabbed both plates. Kaori immediately took her plate back.
"Hey, that's my plate. I'll return it myself," Kaori said.
"Ah—alright," Alvaro replied with a small smile.
Did that work? Alvaro thought.
Alvaro walked over and returned the plates to the vendor, then went back to Kaori.
While they were talking, the bell rang, and they both returned to their respective classrooms.
—time skip—
At the office, Alvaro went to the dorm supervisor's room with her bag slung over her shoulder.
"Excuse me, ma'am. I'd like to get my dorm key. My name is Valerie Celeste."
"Alright, let me check the data," the staff member replied as she typed on her laptop. She scrolled down, then stopped.
"Room number 23. Here's the key." She stood up and handed it to Alvaro.
Alvaro smiled politely and thanked her before walking out. She went upstairs and headed to the dorm.
Ah… finally. This one, right? Alvaro thought.
She unlocked the door and stepped inside. There were already someone else's belongings—it looked like she had a roommate.
"Hello? Anybody here?" Alvaro asked.
Then a girl walked out, wearing Hello Kitty pajama pants and a white shirt. She widened her eyes when she saw Alvaro.
"Ah! Valerie!!! So you're going to be my roommate?"
It was Kaori. She smiled brightly, while Alvaro awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.
"Yeah… haha."
"And that's your bed," Kaori said, pointing at it.
"So, you used to have a roommate?" Alvaro asked.
"Yeah… she left me because she wanted to live with her friend," Kaori answered, her face clearly showing annoyance and disappointment.
"Hm. She's a mf, though," Alvaro replied.
"Heh—what?" Kaori asked, wanting her to repeat it while giggling.
"She's a mf," Alvaro repeated.
Kaori finally laughed.
Seeing Kaori laugh, Alvaro couldn't help but laugh freely as well.
Slowly they stopped laughing and Alvaro pulled up a new topic.
"Anyways, how long have you been in this dorm?" she asked.
"Eeh? Hmm.. maybe 3 years," Kaori answered.
"Hooo, I see," Alvaro nodded and walked away but stopped.
"Ah—lemme put my stuff away first," Alvaro said, and Kaori nodded.
Then Alvaro walked toward the empty wardrobe, opened her bag, and opened the closet. She took out her books and clothes and placed them neatly inside, along with her novel. After that, she closed the wardrobe again and stood up.
"I'll go shower real quick," Alvaro said before turning toward the bathroom.
She grabbed the shampoo her grandmother had given her and went inside, closing the door.
Water trickled while Alvaro showered, and that's when she struggled—staring at her unfamiliar female body.
Meanwhile, Kaori, who sat on the sofa, glanced at Alvaro's bag. Something inside looked like a plush toy, catching her attention. She stood up and tilted her head.
This plushie… feels familiar?
The plush was soft. Kaori felt like she knew it, but she couldn't recall exactly—it had been so long. She spaced out staring at the plush until the bathroom door opened.
Alvaro stepped out, done showering, and saw Kaori holding the plush toy.
"What's with that doll?" Alvaro asked.
Kaori immediately raised her hands.
"Eh—no no, it's nothing!" Kaori answered with a stiff laugh.
Did she notice or not? Alvaro wondered.
With a thinking face, Alvaro walked over to Kaori and took her plush.
"This… it's from my childhood friend," Alvaro said.
"Oh? I see" Kaori replied.
Alvaro then glanced at the door.
"Ah… you haven't had dinner yet, right?" Alvaro asked.
"Ye… yeah, not yet," Kaori answered.
"How about we order something?" Alvaro suggested, glancing at Kaori again.
"Okay," Kaori agreed.